Process and apparatus for storing acetylene



June 9, 1931. E. G. LUENING PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR STORING ACETYLENEFiled May 12, 1927 Z W N m P V gum/A coa Patented June 9, 1931 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE- EUGENE GEORGE LUENING, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY,ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AS- SZGNIVIENTS, TO AIR REDUCTION COMPALTY,INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR STORING ACETYLENEApplication filed May 12,

plosion from slight predisposing causes, and

precautions are taken to provide certain safety conditions. For example,it is known that acetylene can be dissolved in certain solvents such asacetone and stored in solution with safety up to a certain relativequantity. It is also known that high explosive fluids, such asacetylene, may be safely conserved in nonexplosive condition whenconcentrated in a porous, cellular or interstitial mass of solidmaterial, providing the pores, cells and interstitial spaces are not ofgreater dimensions than a certain critical magnitude which is a limit ofimmunity of explosion for a given degree of condensation or relativequantity of fluid stored. Both of these safety conditions may beprovided for in a single storage device.

The quantity of fluid that may be stored in the porous filler of acontainer, either alone or in solution, in a suitable solvent, dependsupon the porosity of the filler in the container. If the filler is toodense, the stored fluid will not be freed sufliciently rapidly when thepressure is released, and if the filler is too porous, the stored fluidwill escape too rapidly in gaseous form, and carry some of the liquidsolvent therewith, producing spitting. In previous practice, one hasbeen forced to reduce the storage capacity to such a point that thisspitting of the solvent, when gas is withdrawn, is prevented.

Another objection to the present practice in the art is that when theporosity is correct to achieve the desired result, namely, to releasethe gas without blowing out any of thesolvent liquid, it is necessary todrill a hole into the filler so that the surface for the release of thegas will be of suflicient area. Re-

lease of the gas is thus permitted but to the extent that the hole ispresent, the safety of the cylinder is decreased.

The object of my invention is to provide a method or means which willachieve all the desired results, that is to provide filler of themaximum permissible porosity, which Serial No. 190,719.

will hold the maximum quantity of liquid and gas and will at the sametime release the gas at the desired rate of flow without releasing thesolvent liquid and which will at the same time completely fill theentire body of the container.

An important feature of my invention involves the provision, between themain body of a highly porous filler and the mouth of the container, ofdenser material, whose porosity is such that the gas, when freed, willflow through it at the required maximum rate, but such that if the gasis dissolved in a liquid solvent, said liquid will not flow readilythrough the partition and will be retained in the main body of thehighly porous material.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out hereinafter or will beapparent upon consideration of the embodiments illustrated theaccompanying drawings. It is to be understood that these drawings are tobe considered in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense. In thedrawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of one embodiment of my invention and Fig.2 is a corresponding vertical section of another embodiment of myinvention.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 1, I have provided a container1, in which there is a filler 2 whose porosity is preferably the maximumpermissible porosity from the standpoint of liability to explosion.Projecting into this highly porous filler from the mouth 8 of thecontainer is a tube 4 with a closed lower end and formed of a densermaterial of which the porosity is such that while the gas of theexplosive fluid, such as acetylene, will flow through the walls of thetube at the required maximum rate the liquid, acetone, for example, inwhich the gas is dissolved will not flow rapidly therethrough.

Thistube 4 which is closed at its lower end tion is preferably oftubular drawn steel with an integral bottom and with the metal at theupper end gradually increasing in thickness from the cylindrical portionto the end containing the mouth 3. The container 1 is shown as somewhatreduced at its lower end to fit into a base 5. Secured to the containerat the mouth 3 is the usual valved hose coupling 6, and the wall mayhave one or more fusible blow-out plugs 7.

The filler f2 and the tube 4 may be placed in the container 1 in anysuitable way. One desirable manner of obtaining this arrangementis toinsert into the container 1 filling material in very plastic form, forexample very wet Portland cement which may contain other material suchas charcoal. After the container is filled with such plastic materialthe material may be set or changed into porous nonplastic form, as bydrying during a considerable period of time. A hole may be bored in theporous filler by means of a suitable tool inserted in the mouth 3 toform a passage extending from the mouth down into the filler. This holeor opening may he of the maximum diameter permitted by the opening forthe hose coupling 6. It may then be filled with material preferably inplastic form, but which in its final form is of greater density than thefiller 2. It should be of such porosity that it will permit passage ofthe gas freed from the main body of the filler 2, but will prevent thepassage of the liquid solvent such as acetone. This material may then beset and a hole may be bored down through the same, nearly, but not quiteto the lower end thereof to form the tube 4 with its lower end closed.This tube 4 may then be filled with filling material which may be thesame as the main filler 2. After final setting the filling material issaturated with a liquid solvent, such as acetone, for the stored fluid,such as acetylene.

The extremely porous material such as filler 2 then fills all of thespace in the container except that occupied by the tube 4 which is ofdenser material. It will be seen that the tube 4 while of any desiredlength has its outside diameter equal to the diameter of the usualtapped hole which constitutes the mouth 3. The inside diameter of thetube 4 depends upon the physical strength of the material of which it ismade and should he as large as consistent with the required strength,that is, the walls of the tube should be made as thin as practicable.The length of the tube is dependent on the character of the filler 2,the character of the material of which the tube 4 is composed, and thesize of the container 1. The length of the tube is finally determined bythe total volume of the gas, the pressure under which it is absorbed andthe rate of release desired. Obviously the tube 4 might be formed inadvance and inserted in the filler 2.

In Fig. 2 there is shown an alternative type of construction, in whichthe filler of maxi mum porosity 2 occupies the principal part of thebottom portion of the container 1 and in which there is inserted in theprocess of manufacture a disc or partition 8 of denser materialpositioned ashort distance below the top of the container and having forits function to permit the free flow of gas therethrough while retainingthe absorbing liquid below the same.

It will be evident that the form shown in Fig. 2 is possible only whenthe disc 8 of denser material is actually manufactured within thecontainer or cylinder while the construction illustrated in Fig. 1 makespossible the insertion of a tube after the cylinder is manufactured.

The thickness, density, and surface area of the partition, whether indisc or tubular form depend upon the character of the filler of highporosity, the size of the container, the rate of flow of gas from thecontainer, the pressure at which the gas is absorbed in the liquid, thediameter of the hole provided for the release of the gas and otherconditions which may apply.

The important feature of my invention is explosive gases absorbed underpressure in containers containing porous material, whose pores, cells orinterstices have porosity which is the limit of immunity to explosionfor a given degree of concentration and the partition, such as a tube orplate, is of denser material having such porosity that the gas given offpasses through it freely but the solvent liquid within the body of thecontainer is retalined. The dimensions and locations of such obstructingor retaining member or partition are such that a large surface is ineach case available for the release of gas from the denser dividing wallthus effecting the desirable rate of gas fiow. The whole storage deviceis so arranged that the entire body of the container is substantiallycompletely filled with porous material without voids, open spaces orholes of any kind.

The difference in porosity of the different 7 parts may be formed indifierent ways as for instance varying the relative proportions of theingredient, such as cement and charcoal, using charcoal of differentmesh, or varying the amount of water in the mixture.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toobtain by Letters Patent is: v

1. A storage device for explosive fluids, including a container having amouth, a filler of suitable porosity, and a partition of solidnon-expansible porous material of greater density interposed betweensaid filler and said mouth.

2. A device for safely storing explosive material of similar characterto said filler, but of greater density interposed between the main bodyof said filler and a relatively small portion of said filler adjacent tosaid mouth, and a liquid solvent for the explosive fluid.

3. A device for safely storing explosive fluids, including a containerhaving a mouth, a filler of suitable porosity, and a tube with a closedinner end projecting from said mouth into said filler, said tube beingof porous material of greater density than said filler.

l. A storage device for explosive fluids, including a container having amouth, a filler of suitable porosity substantially filling saidcontainer, and a tube with a closed inner end projecting from said mouthinto said filler, said tube being of porous material of greater densitythan said filler and being filled with material of suitable porosity togive off the stored fluid with suificient freedom, and the porousmaterial in said container being saturated with a liquid solvent for theexplosive fluid.

5. A method of making a device for safely storing explosive fluids,including the steps of filling a container with material in plasticform, setting said material in porous form, and forming in said filler atube of denser porous material extending from the container outlet intosaid filler and having a closed inner end.

6. A method of making a device for safely storing explosive fluids,including the steps of filling a container having a mouth, with materialin plastic form, setting said material in porous form, removing saidfilling material in a space extending inwardly from said mouth to forman opening of substantially the cross-section of said mouth, and liningsaid opening with a lining of porous material of greater density thansaid filling.

7 A method of making a device for safely storing explosive fluids,including the steps of filling a container having a mouth, with fillingmaterial in a plastic state, setting said material in porous form,removing said filling material in a space extending inwardly from saidmouth, filling said space with plastic material adapted to set in denserform than said first mentioned filling material, setting said lastmentioned plastic material, re moving the central portion of the densermaterial to leave a relatively thin lining at the sides and inner end,and filling said lining with material of greater porosity than saidsecond mentioned material.

8. A method of making a device for safely storing explosive fluids,including the steps of filling a container having a mouth, with fillingmaterial in a very plastic state, setting said material in porous form,removing said filling material in a space extending inwardly from saidmouth, filling said space with plastic material adapted to set in denserform than said filling material, setting said last mentioned plasticmaterial, forming a space in said denser material, filling said secondmentioned space with plastic material adapted to set in more porousform, and setting said material.

9. A container having a mouth, a filler of porous material, filling thegreater part of said container, a rigid partition of finely porousmaterial of permanently greater density, and a material of porositysubstantially that of said filler between said partition and said mouth.

10. An acetylene cylinder having a porousfiller substantially completelyfilling the cylinder, a ortion of the filler adjacent to, but spacedrom, the cylinder outlet being of greater density than the portions ofthe filler above and below the same but of substantially the samecomposition.

11. An acetylene cylinder having a porous filler substantiallycompletely filling the cylinder, a portion of the filler adjacent to thecylinder outlet bein of permanently greater density than the portions ofthe filler below the same, said denser portion of the filler being ofthe same material as the rest of the filler.

12. The method of making an acetylene absorbent including pouring into acylinder a plastic mass which upon setting forms a porous filler,thereafter pouring in a plastic mass which upon setting will form asolid non-yielding mass of greater density, and thereafter pouring intothe cylinder a second portion of the first mentioned mass tosubstantially completely fill the cylinder.

13. A storage device for explosive fluids comprising a container filledwith porous materials to the exclusion of gross cavities, and having amouth, said materials comprising a main filler of suitable porosity, apartition of greater density interposed between said main filler andsaid mouth, and an additional filler of greater porosity than thepartition occupying a space between the partition and the mouth, saidfillers and said partition each consisting of solid coherent material.

14. An acetylene cylinder having a mouth, a filler of suitable porosity,solid coherent porous matter of the same material as but of lessporosity than said filler interposed be-' tween said filler and saidmouth, and a solvent for the explosive fiuid absorbed by the porouscontents of said container.

Signed at Louisville in the county of J efferson and State of Kentuckythis 6th day of May, A. D. 1927.

EUGENE GEORGE LUENING.

